by Xana Jordan
“I think we have all the information needed for the moment. I’ll need both of you ladies to come by the campus office and give full statements in the morning. Please,” he looks at Stacy and Xana directly, “do not hesitate to call us tonight if you remember anything else of importance.”
Noel and I assure the officers the girls will be by in the morning, and they discuss a few more things with each other before separating to continue with their patrols.
“Give me your keys,” I say, not getting any sort of response from her.
“Here,” Xana says handing them to me. “I dropped them when I tried to unlock the door,” she says quietly, her voice wobbling. “She was really tired, so I was going to drive us home. I’m sorry,” she apologizes while looking at the asphalt under her feet. My anger at the situation and those two fuckers who attacked them, making them this petrified, burns slowly in my gut, I really need to hit something, someone.
Stacy chooses this moment to snap out of whatever place her mind went to, and grabs Xan in a hug. “It isn’t your fault,” she soothes, “I didn’t see them either, and we were both looking around the parking lot. They came out of nowhere,” she explains as she locks eyes with mine over Xana’s shoulder.
Noel looks at me, silently telling me it’s time to get them back to our room for the night, and I couldn’t agree more. Taking her by the shoulders I turn Stacy to face me, saying, “Let’s get out of here. I’ll drive, okay?” She nods her head in acceptance and I move to unlock her car.
“Come on, Sweetness,” Noel urges Xana, helping her into the backseat before joining her. Both of the girls are still very shaken up, and I’m more than pissed off I didn’t listen to Noel when he first said he had a bad feeling. Never again are either one of them going out at night without one of us. Ever.
We’re back in our room within a few minutes, the girls having come in through the window. Curfew isn’t over yet, but I’m not wasting time to check them in and out. Stace is still pretty detached and doesn’t say much. Bringing her to me, I can feel her start to shiver. “It’s going to be alright. I’ve got you now, okay?” She finally looks into my eyes and nods her head.
“Okay,” she whispers.
“I’m gonna go ahead and hit the shower so I don’t have to leave again,” I tell her, more questioning than a statement. Her reaction wasn’t quite expected.
“NO, don’t leave. Please,” she pleads taking hold of my shirt with both hands and holding on for dear life. Tears start to fall from her eyes and her shaking gets worse. Holding her tightly against my chest, I smooth out her hair and whisper calming words in her ear. Looking over her shoulder at Noel and Xana, he catches my gaze and nods.
“Sssh, babe. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” She lifts her chin to look at me, her face wet with fresh falling tears. Her devastation completely breaks me.
I slowly walk her over to sit on my bed, allowing her to curl herself around me, clinging to me with an iron clad grip. Whatever she needs me to do, I’ll do it.
Noel, sitting on his bed with Xana in a position much like ours, looks over and catches my gaze. I know it’s killing him not to ask the girls more questions about what happened. It’s killing us both, but now isn’t the time for that. They need us to just hold them for the moment.
Not saying a word, I reach for the remote and turn the television on, flipping to one of the girls’ favorite reality shows, and settling in to watch with them. It doesn’t take very long to get their attention, drawing them in enough to relax a little more. The show ends and yawns fill the room. Noting the time, I turn to her to ask if she wants to change into more comfortable clothes and she agrees. Noel stands to gather some for Xana and we step out into the hallway while the girls get changed.
“Never are they leaving our sight, Cade. I should have just gone over there to wait for them anyway. Shit!” Noel runs his free hand through his hair, pulling it in frustration. “Even in groups they aren’t safe. What the hell?” He looks at the closed door, and closes his eyes. “If anything else had happened to them, to her…,” he begins.
“I know, man. Dammit, I know what you’re thinking, but you aren’t to blame. There’s no way we could have known that would happen. None.” I cross my arms in front of me, daring him to argue more.
“Shit!” He releases a long breath and closes his eyes again before speaking. “I don’t want to think about them living on campus next year without us around to protect them.”
“I know. I know. I’m kicking myself for not listening to your gut in the first place. Now walk down to the bathroom and calm down before you go back in there. Neither one of them need to see us freaking out over this. You know that.”
“I know you’re right, but...we don’t even know everything that happened, Cade. If I ever find the sons of bitches that did this…”
I agree with him just as the door opens, Stacy peeking her head outside. “We’re done,” she says, grabbing onto my arm to bring me back inside. I turn back to see Noel hurrying down the hall to gather his emotions. Once I make it into the room, she closes the door behind me and begins to lock it, until I stop her.
I cuddle up with Stace on my bed, watching television with them. She’s stuck to my side like glue, and I can’t complain about that. Glancing over to check on Xana, I can see that she’s huddled up on the foot of the bed by the door, staring at the door as she waits for him to return. Wrapped up in his comforter, her blank expression worries me.
“He had to hit the head. He’ll be right back.”
The only response I get is a slight nod, her eyes never leaving their target.
“You okay, Xan?” My voice causes her to look at me, then the door, and nod again.
Only a few more minutes pass before Noel gets back, now calm and collected, and sits down with her. She immediately assumes the same pose as Stacy, needing Noel’s physical presence for security. I know it’s now or never from the look he gives me, so I make the first step.
“What happened tonight, babe?” Her body stiffens slightly under my arms, and she casts her head across the room to look at Xana.
“We were walking to Stace’s car,” Xan begins, her voice soft, holding a bit of eeriness to it, causing the hairs on my arms to stand at attention, and clearly making Noel uncomfortable. “We were looking around us, just like we were supposed to, I swear,” she looks at Noel, her stare silently pleading to be believed.
“We really were paying attention,” Stace turns to me for acceptance.
“We know you were, babe.” I kiss her forehead, pulling her more securely to my body.
“We made it to the car, and I dropped the keys before I could unlock the doors.” Xan’s voice drops to almost nothing as she buries her face into his shoulder, eliciting soothing words from him.
“They just came out of nowhere, Cade,” Stace continues, looking right through me, lost in her memories of the situation. “They grabbed us from behind and the big one slammed her up against the door, while the other guy tried to hold me back.” Low curses can be heard from Noel, Xana wrapped around him tighter than before. It’s taking everything I have to remain calm and let Stacy speak.
Running my palm along her tear soaked face jerks her back to the present, and she carries on with her recall of events. “They didn’t get a chance to really do anything before they noticed the cops were coming toward us. That’s really about it before you two showed up.” Gently coaxing her to lay against my chest, I rest my chin on top of her soft, tousled hair, taking a deep breath or ten before saying anything else.
“You sure they didn’t hurt you?” I hate to ask that question, but the protector in me needs to know, regardless of the answer.
Nodding her head as is rests in the crook of my neck, she whispers, “I just got jostled around a bit before they were scared away. They didn’t get a chance to do anything more to me,” her words fade out on the last one, her gaze landing on Xana before traveling up to meet Noel’s questioning eyes. Oh, fuck.
Noel pulls her face away from its hiding spot, wordlessly demanding confirmation of his suspicions. Sobbing loudly, she nods her head, trying in vain to pull away from him. “Tell me,” he demands with carefully restrained emotions.
“He got...his hands…,” she chokes out, head swinging from back and forth in embarrassment. Those bastards are very lucky they left before we got there. I’m not sure the cops could have even stopped Noel from killing them. I know I wouldn’t have stopped him, or myself, for that matter.
We turn our attention back to our girls, letting them have the emotional release they desperately need, but have held off until now. The girls only last another half hour, their adrenaline finally wearing off, before they are both sleeping soundly.
Noel slides away from the bed to lock everything up for the night. Before turning the lights off he turns to me. “I don’t care if they like it or not, but they’re not going to their morning classes tomorrow. We’ll take them to the campus police office and finish up what’s needed.”
After nodding my head with a jerk, Noel puts the room in darkness and goes back to bed. I know he’s not asleep, because I’m not either. He’s lying there, watching her sleep and blaming himself for not being with them to prevent what happened. We both know it’s not our fault, that it could have happened to anyone at any time, but that’s of no consequence to us.
I’m not sure how long I’ve laid awake comforting her as she had restless dreams that made her whimper and fidget in her sleep. There wasn’t anything I could do to keep her from dreaming, but I did everything in my power to help her rest as well as possible. That’s the most important thing.
Sleep evades me for a long time as I watch her sleep. Imagining all the horrible things that could have happened to the girls, makes my blood boil and my stomach turn inside out. Seeing her scared and numb, zoning out like no one is present, reached my limit. Trying to conceal my anger for her benefit was almost beyond my control, but I did it for her. Letting Noel express his feelings the way he needed, was what he needed, not me. She needed me to remain calm, and reassuring, so that’s what I gave her. No one means more to me than the girl lying in my arms, and I’ll die to protect her.
Waking up a hot, sweaty mess was not how I wanted to start this morning. I take a minute and determine that my body feels like I haven’t slept anymore than a few hours, maybe less, when I feel Cade sit up from the bed. Keeping my eyes closed to avoid facing the day ahead doesn’t fool him, though. He knows I’m already awake.
“C’mon, babe. Time to get up.” I groan and tug the covers he’s sliding off me back over my head.
“No. I just wanna sleep,” I whine, begging to be left alone a little longer.
“I’ve already let you sleep in. It’s nine o’clock already.” Cade pulls the covers from my body a second time, leaning down to place a quick, firm kiss on my exposed shoulder. Why does he have to kiss so damn good all the time?
“You let me sleep through classes? Why?” I open my eyes to frown in confusion.
“You needed the sleep, and you didn’t need to deal with worrying about paying attention in class knowing you were going to campus security afterwards. I’m going with you, so you don’t have to stress over that part.”
“I’m fine, really. You don’t have to babysit me, ya know.” His protectiveness of me is endearing but unnecessary. I’m okay, and other than being a bit sore, nothing else is a problem.
“Don’t argue with me on this one, Stace. I’m not compromising this time. I mean it.” He gives me the look that tells me he truly is serious. His jaw is set firmly, teeth clenched together putting his teeth in a straight line, and his eyes hold not one ounce of amusement. And his voice? It’s so low, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it sound quite that hard. Assessing his expression for a few moments, I determine pushing the subject any further would not be in my best interest. This is simply one of those times where he is in total control.
“Okay,” I concede, getting out of bed to wash my face. “Where are Xana and Noel?”
“He took her back to her room earlier this morning. She needed to get her meds and eat breakfast. Are you hungry?” Placing the washcloth in his hamper when I’m done, I change out of his sweats and into my jeans, leaving his tee shirt on. It comforts me.
“Not really, but I probably should eat a little something.” Walking back to the bed to put on my shoes, Cade hands me a granola bar and a bottle of grape juice. Even though he’s a college student now, he still has to have his precious purple breakfast beverage on hand. He really is very cute about it.
We finish dressing, eating a quick, makeshift breakfast before texting Noel to meet us at Campus Security. It only takes us a few minutes to get there, the two of them already waiting for us.
Talking to the officer from last night doesn’t take very long. All we needed to do was go over our statements and the details of the attack so that it could be addressed during individual dorm meetings next week when students were back from this weekend’s activities. Xana remembered a few more details about the guy who came at us and they were added to the official description.
“The guy who grabbed me was really tall, like the top of my head came to his shoulders, tall. And he smelled like strong cologne and alcohol. Beer and some other liquor. He was close enough to my body that I could see his stubbled, dimpled chin in the parking lot lights. That’s all.”
Noel did not take well to hearing the attacker was that close to her, much less added to what she told him last night, and quite frankly Cade was probably just as tense sitting beside me.
Having that over with, I wanted nothing more than to take a day just to have fun and enjoy the beautiful weather with my friends. Thankfully, Xana was in agreement with me. God bless her, she really gets me.
“C’mon, Stace. Let’s call Mallory and see if she wants to do something this afternoon! She isn’t working today.” The excitement in her voice is very contagious.
“That sounds amazing! I was just thinking about that,” I tell her, noticing Noel and Cade, out of the corner of my eye, exchanging a heated look. “But I’m not so sure caveman one and caveman two are going to be okay with that,” I sass, jerking my thumb in their direction.
The smile drops from her face and transforms into a menacing glare, well as much as it can be if she’s giving it, at our boys.
“Babe, we have a ball game today and can’t go with you.” His stern tone catching us both off guard. Damn. Even I didn’t see that one coming.
“You listen here, Noel Daniels,” she pokes his chest with her finger. “We’re going to That One Place Salon and spending the afternoon, and that’s it!” She jams her fists onto her hips, staring him down, tossing a look at Cade in the process.
“But last night,” he argues before being cut off.
“But nothing, Noel. It was dark and mostly deserted. The salon is in the middle of the town square. It’s broad daylight! We’ll be fine.” She snuggles into him, resting her palms on his chest. “Please,” her voice soft and pleading bottom lip puckered out giving her face the quality of an innocent and totally devastated little girl. She pulled the lip on him. He can never tell her no when she does that. My little grasshopper has learned well.
I can see the indecision on his face as his eyes roam all over her. Cade gives him nonverbal backup by crossing his arms over his chest. Oh, no he di’nt.
“Give it up, Daniels,” I warn him before he does anything else stupid. “We’re going and that’s the end of it. You know we’re not going to do anything stupid to be at risk again. You too, Cade.” I mirror his stance with my own arms, returning their glares unphased.
The two of them look at each other, shaking their heads. “Fine, but you two will text us where you are and often,” my angry boyfriend informs us.
“If we call to check on you, one of you had better answer the damn phone,” Noel warns us, not too pleased with the situation, but we’re right and they’re overreacting. Mostly.
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nbsp; “Oh my coconuts, this is just what the doctor ordered.” I lay my head back against the massage chair and close my eyes, letting the rolling balls soothe my tired, sore muscles.
“Aaah, I’m so glad you two called me about doing this today,” Mallory groans.
“Mmmmhmh,” is all Xana says. Glancing out of the corner of my eye over toward where she’s sitting beside me, she appears to be half asleep. That didn’t take long.
The three of us are sitting in the pedicure part of That One Place, enjoying a deluxe spa pedicure and manicure. After all of that is done, we are letting the stylists freshen up our hairstyles.
The boys have a double header starting mid-afternoon, and they left shortly after lunch to travel there with the team, both struggling to get their focus back on ball and off of us. Leaving us unattended for more than a trip to the bathroom has them all stressed out. Cade really needs to lock that insanity down, because although Xana may be alright dealing with Noel when he’s like that, he is about to push his luck with me. I know he means well, and is truly worried about me, but I need space to breathe. Space to clear my head and forget everything that happened last night, blocking it out entirely. I can’t function when I feel like I’m drowning.
“Alright, Martin, spill it. How in the world did you go from Keaton to Gavin? I know there’s more to this story than I’m getting,” I remark, determined to get better answers.
“Not much to tell that you don’t either already know or haven’t figured out on your own.” She never once looks my way, fueling my need to know these things.
“I know something was kinda weird when we were in Galveston for Spring Break, but I just chalked it up to my not really knowing him very well. Did he do something?”
Rolling my head to face Mallory as she sits on the other side of Xana, who is shaking her head at my questioning, I see her close her eyes and exhale a long breath, resigning herself to answer me directly.
